photo © Thomas Raven
When a film like Shadow of the Vampire comes along, I sometimes wonder how it was ever green-lighted in the uber-commercialized film world of the 21st century. This movie is a heady mix of art, drama, and comedy that works perfectly as it creates a fictionalized story about the making of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 vampire film, Nosferatu.
Nosferatu was originally intended to be titled Dracula until Bram Stoker’s widow denied the filmmakers the rights to her husband’s novel. They went ahead and made the picture anyway, simply substituting new names for all the characters from Stoker’s book. The result was a brilliant film but one that got entangled in legal issues and was very nearly erased from existence. Most copies were indeed destroyed due to a court order. Thankfully, a few prints escaped and we still have most, if not all, of this cinematic terrorfest to enjoy today.
In Shadow of the Vampire, director E. Elias Merhige focuses his lens on the initial film shoot during which it’s revealed that Max Shrek, the actor playing Count Orlok, is a real vampire who’s been coerced by Murnau to participate in his film. It’s a brilliant idea and one that allows the artsy director to sink his teeth into unique visuals.
The ensemble cast includes John Malkovich, Udo Kier, Eddie Izzard, Cary Elwes, and Catherine McCormack, but it’s Willem Dafoe who dominates the frame. Even under loads of prosthetics, Dafoe makes his vampiric monster relatable. We question the value of immortality as his character wrestles with the facts of his existence. What’s amazing is that Dafoe also gets most of the biggest laughs in the picture.
The music by Dan Jones sounds at times like a spider spinning its web and at other times like the ennui of the titular vampire. It effectively reflects the melancholy that lies at the heart of almost every character in the film and is one of my all-time favorite soundtracks.
I watch this film every Halloween season. If you hurry, you can just fit it into your own spooky season too! Highly recommended.